Whereas solely round a 3rd of the world’s rivers stay free-flowing, in response to the marketing campaign group Worldwide Rivers, the state of affairs is worse in Europe, the place the variety of ‘wild’ or free-flowing rivers proceed to dwindle.
Most of those wild rivers, waterways not impeded by human-made interference, are within the Western Balkans, in response to Branka Španiček of CEE Bankwatch Community, which displays public finance our bodies and tries to cease initiatives it sees as more likely to injury the surroundings, together with dams.
“The River Bosna in Bosnia and Herzegovina is without doubt one of the few massive rivers with no hydropower vegetation or different obstacles proscribing its circulate,” mentioned Španiček, Bankwatch’s strategic space chief – finance and biodiversity.
In Albania, the Vjosa River, stretching from Greece to the Adriatic Sea, can be thought-about the final, or one of many final, rivers of this kind.
Flowing free for round 200 kilometres, the Vjosa and its surrounding surroundings are residence to over a thousand animal and plant species, together with 15 listed as threatened.
The Albanian authorities designated The Vjosa a Nationwide Park in 2023, culminating years of campaigning backed by native individuals, environmentalists and climbing gear maker Patagonia.
Beth Thoren, Patagonia’s director of environmental motion, EMEA [Europe, Middle East, Africa], mentioned the corporate bought concerned as rivers within the area “had been being threatened by 1000’s of small hydropower initiatives – an costly and ineffective option to generate power.”
Europe was industrialised earlier than different continents – a head begin that in some instances will be measured in not solely many years however centuries – that means its rivers have been affected by dams, hydropower vegetation, reservoirs, diverting and channelisation for lots longer and to a larger extent than elsewhere.
“Earlier and extra extended industrialisation in Europe has had a big affect on its rivers, leading to comparatively fewer wild or untainted rivers in comparison with different elements of the world,” mentioned Monti Aguirre of Worldwide Rivers, which “protects rivers and defends the rights of communities that rely upon them.”
“We now have about 28,000 energy vegetation in Europe, and nearly all of the rivers have been dammed or diverted,” mentioned Ulrich Eichelmann of RiverWatch, who has fought for 4 many years to stop extra injury being finished to Europe’s waterways.
Eichelmann mentioned injury to rivers has been simpler to miss than to different habitats, partly as a result of the results of dams and reservoirs should not so obvious to the untrained eye or at first look.
And hydropower has lengthy been perceived as a comparatively “clear” supply of power and electrical energy, no less than in comparison with oil and coal.
Eichelmann mentioned that individuals will be misled by the customarily clear and nonetheless waters effectively deep behind a dam wall.
He mentioned what lies beneath the floor is a “desert,” no less than in comparison with the “dynamic ecosystem” of an unimpeded river.
In response to The Nature Conservancy, rivers and their watersheds “are among the most undervalued pure techniques on Earth.”
However there have been some constructive developments in recent times.
In response to Aguirre, “conservation efforts and environmental insurance policies in Europe have improved over time, resulting in initiatives geared toward restoring and defending river ecosystems,” such because the EU’s restoration code.
The Vjosa instance may very well be one to observe: Španiček mentioned over 80 rivers within the so-called Emerald Community within the Western Balkans “ought to be protected.”
“We now have seen a change in financing hydropower improvement – the European Financial institution for Reconstruction and Improvement (EBRD) and European Funding Financial institution (EIB) have tightened their environmental safeguards and have backed out of financing a number of massive hydropower initiatives within the Western Balkans,” Španiček mentioned.
Whereas the priority in Europe these days is from dozens of small hydropower vegetation within the Balkans – barely value it curiosities that may generate little or no electrical energy relative to the continent’s wants – areas akin to Latin America and Southeast Asia are seeing the constructing of colossal dams, a lot of them Chinese language-built.
Within the case of the Mekong, these behemoths are upending ecosystems and agriculture from southern China by way of Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.
What Eichelmann described as “the sheer energy of China” and “massive enterprise” makes it troublesome to cease such initiatives.
If the US removes hydroelectric dams from the near-1,800 kilometre Snake River – one thing officers in Washington, DC, have began to have a look at doing – it may very well be one thing for Europe to emulate.
Rivers can recuperate their former dynamism if dams are taken away and allowed to circulate naturally once more, in response to Eichelmann.
“It’s merely a query whether or not we wish to have rivers sooner or later, ” he mentioned.
[Edited by Alice Taylor]
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